Mukesh Sanhkla's Enhiker Delivers a Weather-Based Go/No-Go Decision for Hiking Trips

Software engineer and maker Mukesh Sanhkla has turned a DFRobot UNIHIKER single-board computer into a portable gadget designed to provide go/no-go for hiking activities based on local weather conditions — and it doubles as a data logger and emergency power bank, too.

"Enhiker is a compact, 3D-printed device designed to assist outdoor enthusiasts in making informed decisions about their environment," Sanhkla explains of the handheld project. "Powered by UNIHIKER from DFRobot, it integrates environmental and GNSS [Global Navigation Satellite System] sensors to assess real-time weather conditions and location data. Enhiker provides users with a clear recommendation on whether it's safe to set up camp or continue outdoor activities based on health and safety parameters."

As Sanhkla says, the heart of the project is a DFRobot UNIHIKER — an all-in-one single-board computer with touchscreen display released in June last year, featuring a Rockchip RK3308 system-on-chip with four Arm Cortex-A35 cores and a GigaDevice GD32VF103 RISC-V microcontroller co-processor behind a 2.8" 240×320 touchscreen panel. To this, Sanhkla has added a range of extra sensors: a multi-sensor breakout provides temperature, humidity, barometric pressure, ambient light, and ultraviolet index sensing, while a separate GNSS receiver can pick up GPS and other positioning satellite signals.

The idea behind the project is simple: the UNIHIKER, in a snazzy 3D-printed case, accompanies Sanhkla on hikes, running a Python program that polls and records data from the local sensors while also using Wi-Fi — where available — to pull down additional information from other sources. Using all of this, a "decision_maker.py" program decides whether it's safe to stay put — or, if necessary, warns of issues including extremes of temperature or pressure, high UV radition levels, or high elevations. "This way," Sanhkla says, "the function helps you make informed decisions about whether it's safe to stay outdoors in specific weather conditions."

As an added bonus, the Enhiker has a hidden bonus feature, which could help get a hiker out of a bind: the two 18650 battery cells used to keep it ticking over in the field can also be used as an emergency power bank to charge external devices, like a smartphone or satellite phone, and can themselves be charged via an optional solar panel.

"Enhiker may not be a groundbreaking innovation in the rapidly evolving world of smartphones and advanced technology," its creator admits, "but it serves a unique purpose by offering valuable lessons in IoT [Internet of Things], communication, and offline functionality — features that many modern devices often overlook. This project stands out for its ability to operate independently of the internet, making it a reliable companion for those who venture into the great outdoors where connectivity is limited."

The project is documented in full, including source code and 3D print files, on Instructables; the source code and CAD files are also available on GitHub under an unspecified license.